The present invention relates to an improved showerhead for use in a bathroom shower and the like and more particularly, to a novel, improved wall-mounted or hand-held showerhead that permits the user to select which of at least two, and preferably four, spray nozzles is to be utilized to discharge water.
In the past, a variety of different types of wall-mounted and hand-held showerheads have been known. Generally the showerheads heretofore available for use have included only a single spray nozzle although such a spray nozzle often included a plurality of spaced apertures or water discharging orifices. Some prior showerheads have provided a "pulsating" discharge. Such "pulsating" showerheads have generally utilized a mechanical or other movable means to create the "pulsating" effect. The Deines et al, U.S. Pat. No. 3,762,648, and the Trenary et al. U.S. Pat. No. 3,801,019, disclose showerheads of this type, i.e., which provide a pulsating discharge by mechanical means. We are also aware of a nozzle assembly which provides a pulsating discharge when used with a hydrotherapy bath unit without the utilization of any mechanical means, and which is disclosed in the Hilger U.S. Pat. No. 3,892,363, assigned to the assignee of this application.
Other liquid spraying devices have included a plurality of separate spray nozzles or orifices and have been designed so as to permit the selection of the particular spray nozzle or orifice through which liquid was to be discharged. The Wendell et al. U.S. Pat. No. 2,132,333; the Smith U.S. Pat. No. 2,388,093; the Rosholt U.S. Pat. No. 2,790,680; the Sharp U.S. Pat. No. 3,291,395; the Bruggerman U.S. Pat. No. 3,377,028; the Piggott U.S. Pat. No. 3,516,611; the Hansen U.S. Pat. No. 3,558,061; the Smith U.S. Pat. No. 3,596,835; the Bartlett U.S. Pat. No. 3,711,029; and the Bartlett U.S. Pat. No. 3,814,326, disclose liquid spraying devices of this general type. While these prior liquid spraying devices have performed, or are apparently capable of performing their intended function in a generally satisfactory fashion, these prior devices have had some disadvantages. Generally these devices have a tendency to leak, and in an effort to prevent, or at least minimize leakage, the structure of the devices has frequently become relatively complicated and thus is expensive to manufacture. In some of the prior devices, it is difficult, and in certain instances impossible, to change from one spray nozzle or orifice to another while liquid is being discharged. This, of course, limits the utility and the purchaser acceptance of these devices.
It is a primary object of our present invention to provide an improved showerhead which is adapted for use in bathroom showers and the like and which, because of the simplicity of its design and structure, may be relatively inexpensively manufactured. Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved showerhead of the type described wherein the showerhead includes a plurality of separate and distinct spray nozzles and wherein the user may select the particular spray nozzle to be utilized and may readily change from using one showerhead to another even while the water is running. Still another object of the present invention is to provide an improved showerhead of the type described wherein a novel "butterfly" seal is utilized to afford superior sealing characteristics and wherein one of the spray nozzles embodied in the showerhead provides, solely as a result of its particular design and construction, a pleasing, pulsating discharge.
More specifically, the improved showerhead of our invention includes a housing which, in part, serves as a conduit through which water may flow. The housing may be mounted on the end of a conventional shower arm extending from a bathroom wall or may include a handle or portion to be gripped in the user's hand. One end of the housing is adapted to be connected with a source of water under pressure, e.g., the conventional shower arm. When the showerhead is designed to be mounted on a wall, the one end of the housing is connected directly to the end of the shower arm pipe. When the showerhead is designed to be hand-held, the one end is connected, via flexible conduit, to the shower arm or any other conventional faucet.
A generally circular disc member is mounted on the other end of the housing so that water flowing through the housing communicates with the rear surface of the disc member. The disc member includes a central aperture and a first, off-set aperture which is disposed between the central aperture and the outer peripheral side edge of the disc member.
A dial assembly is connected with the housing and the rear surface of the dial assembly is positioned adjacent to the front surface of the disc member. The front surface of the dial assembly includes at least two, and preferably four, separate and distinct spray nozzles. The rear surface of the dial assembly includes a plurality of off-set nozzle apertures, one for each of the spray nozzles, which communicate with their respective spray nozzles and which are positioned between the central axis of the dial assembly and its outer peripheral side edge so that they can be aligned with the first aperture in the disc member. A centrally disposed post, coaxial with the central axis of the dial assembly, projects rearwardly from the dial assembly. The rear end of the post is disposed and journaled in the central aperture of the disc member so that the dial assembly may be rotated about its central axis with respect to the disc member and housing. Relative rotation between the dial assembly and the disc member permits a nozzle aperture to be brought into and out of registry with the first aperture in the disc member. When a nozzle aperture is in registry with the first aperture, water may flow from the housing through the first aperture, the nozzle aperture and hence into and through the spray nozzle.
A novel "butterfly" seal is mounted on the front surface of the disc member and is positioned between the disc member and dial assembly and about the first aperture of the disc member. The "butterfly" seal provides superior sealing characteristic when a nozzle aperture is being brought into registry with the first aperture, when it is in registry with the first aperture and when it is being moved out of registry with the first aperture. This seal effectively prevents leakage between the relatively movable dial assembly and the disc member.
A novel latch means is mounted on the housing and includes an intermediate portion and a distal end portion. The intermediate portion overlies and spans the outer peripheral side edge of the dial assembly and the distal end portion abuts the front surface of the dial assembly at a point adjacent to the first aperture of the disc member. The latch means applies a rearwardly directed, restraining or latching force to the front surface of the dial assembly at a point adjacent to the first aperture of the disc member so as to counteract the forwardly directed force resulting from the pressure of the water in the first aperture. Thus the latch means acts to prevent the water pressure force from tending to separate the disc member and the dial assembly. The latch means also serves as an indicator to enable a user of the showerhead to position a particular nozzle aperture properly in registry with the first aperture in the disc member.
As noted above, one of the spray nozzles included in the dial assembly provides a pleasing, pulsating water spray. This pulsating spray results from the turbulence of the water in the spray nozzle immediately upstream from the nozzle's discharge orifice. This turbulence is caused by the particular structure and structural arrangement of this spray nozzle which includes an outer conical wall, an inner conical wall and a discharge orifice wall. These three walls, together with the rear surface of the nozzle assembly, define a turbulence cavity. The water discharge orifice is formed in the discharge orifice wall so that the central axes of the outer conical wall, the inner conical wall, the discharge orifice wall and the discharge orifice are coaxial and are off-set from, but parallel to the central axis of the nozzle aperture associated with this spray nozzle and so that the plane of the discharge orifice wall is transverse to the central axes of the outer conical wall, the inner conical wall and water discharge orifice. The outer conical wall has its first, larger diameter end disposed adjacent to the rear surface of the dial assembly and its second, smaller diameter and disposed adjacent to the front surface of the dial assembly. The inner conical wall is disposed generally within the outer conical wall and has its first, larger diameter end disposed adjacent to and connected with the second, smaller diameter end of the outer conical wall and has its second, small diameter end disposed within the turbulence cavity and between the first and second ends of the outer conical wall. The discharge orifice wall extends across, and except for the discharge orifice formed therein, completely closes the smaller diameter end of the inner conical wall.
One of the important advantages of our improved showerhead, from the standpoint of commercializing our showerhead, is that its components have a relatively simple design and construction and can thereby be manufactured relatively inexpensively. In addition, the design and construction of its components permits the manufacture of a compact, stylish showerhead and this, of course, adds greatly to the sales appeal of our showerhead. Moreover, the simplicity of the showerhead components permits the use of relatively simple inexpensive sealing techniques and this not only reduces the manufacturing cost of the showerhead, but in addition, assures that the showerhead will not have any significant leakage problems.
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiments of our invention, described in connection with the accompanying drawings.